Panda Contract Drive Takes Another Hit

Posted in Uncategorized by Flavor on May 15, 2014

This is starting to feel like a “bad penny” year for The Panda. He was finally starting to hit a little, he even nudged his batting average over .200 for the first time I can remember. Then he has to exit with a big toe injury. It doesn’t sound serious but injuring your big toe, even a little bit, is a bigger deal for a professional athlete than it is for guys like you and me. This could set him back a few steps as he tries to finally get his contract drive going……

Miami comes into town today and I always feel like we play poorly against them. Maybe I’m just remembering all of the Ricky Nolasco beat downs we endured over the years. This Marlin team doesn’t play very well on the road and we should pad our lead in the West this weekend.

Sorry to everyone who has sent me pics lately, been too busy to upload them here or into the ‘bucket but I will get to that soon.

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Awesome game yesterday in many facets. While Bum obviously did not have his best stuff, and the Braves were pesky for the first half of the game, the team again persevered. It was cool to see bombs by Pence, Morse and Mudbug, but I was equally, if not more impressed with the White Shark. Three stolen bags and three runs scored (you would have to go back quite a ways to see that from a SF Giant club).

Sounds like our Flappers on the scene had an awesome time, and it is cool that Blade and snarkk got to meet up with Zumie. Looking forward to the picts with Steve rocking the sombrero. I should have taken mine to the mini Flapalooza we had back in April. Next Flapalooza I suggest everyone who has a sombrero rocks it.

Looking at some of the match-up stuff for this series agains the Fish, and it still boggles my mind every time I see Cain listed as a starter with the 0-3 record. He has pitched pretty damned good of late…time for him to get off the schnide.

Glad to see Blanco contribute. I know I am in minority, but I think he can help the team in LF. His 2 yrs here his OB is high (.330-.340 range) and he plays well at ATT. Last year as season wore on his BA fell 30 points from first half to second; clearly he is not an every day guy but with .700 OPS/102 OPS plus a quality sub.

We’ll see about Colvin, but he had very extreme splits in 2012 season for Colo. Nice numbers over all, but significant drop off on the road–BA fell 100 points and OPS dropped from 1.032 to .687…in other words right into Blanco range. More pop, definitely…OB and defense, likely a drop off. Despite hot start, ATT just isn’t a good place for LH power guys. Right now ATT is playing small with warm weather that won’t last.
Our boy Nate hit 20 HRs playing in friendly confines for Cubs last year, and colvin has been fortunate enough to play for both Cubs and Rox. Seeing what he can do here on part time basis worth a shot I guess.

I won’t speak for blade, but yesterday he said he wasn’t particularly thrilled with Colvin, having seen him in Denver with the Rocks. Apparently the guy is very streaky. In person, I noticed he’s got more than a bit of a herky jerky swing, there seems to be a hitch in that git along. Anyway, he got a couple of knocks including a rope double into right, so I’m hoping he’s on a good streak…

The 2 seasons Colvin has significant numbers of PAs, he’s been a fair to pretty good player. I’m also part of the minority that doesn’t see Blanco as some disastrous alternative — his numbers last year show that — but he’s still never put up a 114 OPS+ like Colvin.

Uhh huh. Guess that’s why he was traded along with DJ LeMahieu to the Sherpas for Casey Weathers (who?) and Ian Stewart in 2011. They liked him so much, he was outrighted off the roster on September 4, 2013. However, despite so many teams wanting him, the Giants were able to sign him to a minor-league deal in February.

Yeah, his career numbers are not great, and I would hardly have high expectations for him, but what the stats show is that in the 2 years Colvin played a significant amount of time, he was not particularly streaky for long periods. He was also pretty good those years.

Hey, blade, stay cool today, it’s going to be a hot one. I am totally into that kind of game plan. As in Timmy v. Goldschmidt — throw the guy nothing but garbage, and if you walk him, fine. Take your chances with somebody else beating you for a change. Teams walked Bonds constantly for a reason — when they threw him a strike, he’d murder the ball…

OK, I know this “lost scouting report” of Hunter Pence is a joke (at least I hope so) but I think it nailed him.

Gangly. Runs like a rotary telephone thrown into a running clothes dryer. Throws like an effete Frenchman throwing a bookcase uphill. Swings a bat like his elbows are stapled to his knees and his underwear is pulled over his head. Stares at you when you aren’t looking.

Yeah, the master plan today in my mom’s circa-1950s home is to open up both doors and all windows in the early morning, then close them around 11am . . . and hope for the best. This place rarely got hot when we had the large Magnolia tree in the front yard. Sucker cast a large shadow over the house and kept it cool . . . Not so much anymore when it had to be removed 5 years ago and it was replaced with a pip-squeak tree that barely clears the roof today. Sigh . . .

First off, Turner field was built just before Atlanta had the Olympics (and no it wasn’t built FOR the Olympics, like the current owners say) My buddy who has had Field box season tickets for the Braves for more than 20 years, doesn’t plan on renewing when they move. He said the commute would be too great. He actually goes to the games (he doesn’t do the chop, so please put the torches away), so I’ll be curious to see how it works out for the Braves. They have trouble fillinng the stadium now, if they start losing the Season ticket holders that are 5 rows behind the plate, Atlanta’s next move might be Oakland.

Agree on the slant on Stanton. Cain, Hudson, Timmy, and Vogs for this series. Nice that all the other teams in the West lost yesterday. Need to take at least 3 of 4 from the Fish to keep the pressure on.

Don’t look now, but second on the club in RBIs is none other than our beloved MudBug with 20 (Morse leads the club with 25).

Some more props for the guy that Macdog talked about yesterday, Anthony DeSclafani. He walked into Dodger Stadium, and pitched very well in his first big league game, and contributed to Marlin rallies with his bat. Hanging a loss on the Dodgers was very cool. It’s probably a nice break for the Giants that they don’t have to face him this week.
The Marlins have beens struggling as of late, but as yesterday’s game vs. the Dodgers reminds everyone, they can be a dangerous team.

Performances yesterday from El Tiburon Blanco and the Very High Most Reverend Underpants demonstrate well the strengths of this team. They can come at you from anywhere at most any time. They pick each other up. No overblown egos with this bunch. Long slumps not too likely because of this spread and also because of the presence of our stopper, the vintage Hudson Terraplane, helluva car in its day and still running smoothly for its third owner. Then there’s yesterday’s bulletproof bullpen.

Agree that the Fish have been a pest and a tormenting snag for SF these past few years ~ to say nothing of ’93. Under those circumstances i’d settle for a split, but hoping for a series win. A series win and most prognosticating poobahs out east will probably concede SF is the team to beat in the NL. Check out those team by team stats. Giants among the leaders in both pitching and run production. No discernable major weaknesses or serious imbalances, as compared with, say, the Rox and their monster home-road splits.

I noted the other day I was not thrilled with Stan Van Gundy as the next Warrior coach and preferred Kerr, so at least I think this is a better step. At least Lacob is showing they are willing to spend to get what they want…isnt Lebron a free agent?:)

I still would look to trade David Lee for Asik as my #1 target. Add Iguodola in the deal and be willing to take Jeremy Lin in the deal to back-up Curry, the Warriors would spend just $3 mill more next year (but then they dont need a Steve Blake or other vet back-up PG that they would likely spend money on) but save $27 mill over the two seasons after next.

Barnes could then get pushed back into the starting lineup to see if he can raise his game in his third year. Then you have Draymond who could then backup Asik and/or Barnes.

This would give the Warriors more flexibility over those next two years to really make a run at a championship by adding pieces to take them to the next level and also provide a big-time insurance for Bogut by having Asik.

Yeah, me too. I just don’t think the players would thrive under Stan Van G’s heavy-handedness. I have no idea how Kerr will go about coaching, but $25 mill for 5 years is pretty pricey for a coach with 0 experience, but what the hell? As we’ve said before it ain’t my money.

It seems unbelievable that a full-court press could mess up an NBA team, but the Clippers made a huge turnover at the end of Game 5 against a press. Chris Paul jumping up to make a pass….what the heck was that? I don’t feel sorry for the Clippers at all. I hope they lose Game 6, too.The Thunder is my surrogate team in the NBA playoffs, although they have to rely on two main players so much.

Interesting stat – Giants have hit 49 HRs (3rd in MLB). They are 21-8 in games they hit at least one HR. In games they do not hit a HR…they’re 5-7. Lends new meaning to the tune “When the Giants come to town…it’s bye bye baby…”

Giants are also 9-4 in series. 5-1 at home and 4-3 on the road. They have swept two series and have not been swept themselves.

It was a terrific Giants game yesterday, but I do have one minor quibble: there was a situation in the game, with Crawford on third, one out, Giants ahead by one or two runs, and Arias pinch-hitting. The situation just screamed for a suicide squeeze attempt, in my opinion. But, Bochy, as usual, chose not to do that. Arias popped out, for the second out, leaving it up to Blanco with two outs; not an ideal situation. Fortunately, Blanco bailed everyone out with a two-out hit to score the run. Bochy, the right choice, or just lucky that time? Whatever, as glad as I am that Blanco came through, I still think the suicide squeeze was the better call.
The Giants should do it at least once in a great while just to make it a threat in the opponent’s mind. Give the defense more to worry about, in their positioning, and pitch selection. I hate it when other teams score a run against the Giants with the squeeze. It can be a back-breaker type of play in the right situation.

Balls were literally screaming yesterday. Posey got under one that went to right field in the 1st, that easily would have gone out of the ball park into the adjacent yacht docks had he gotten all of it. Gattis hit one to right field which had HR written all over it, except it went foul. Crawford’s splash hit was in the water in a nano second.

Last, but not least – Morse’s shot to the farthest corner in right center (420 mark) went at least 440 and possibly 460 feet. Pence also went yard and summarized the day by saying this, “I don’t think there were any cheap homers.”

I’d never heard of Tyler Sash, who played a couple of seasons in the NFL for the NY Giants. He was recently doing reckless drunken driving on his scooter. The story ends humorously:
“The 25-year-old reportedly refused multiple orders to stop, though, and after a four-block chase he ditched the scooter and took off on foot. Police eventually found Sash hiding behind a tree, and when he refused to come out, they shot him with a Taser.”

As blade and I were walking along on the Club level yesterday about an hour before the game, we happened to see Jon Miller walking briskly down the hallway and into a side door in back of the broadcast booth and press box area. He was wearing black shorts and shirt. Jon could do with a little exercise program, IMHO…

blade, this thing estimated Pence’s jack yesterday at only 421, but that’s the distance just to where the wall is out in Right Center. That thing was 20+ feet off the ground when it hit there in the pavillion, so I say it’s easily a 440 foot shot

Steve and Snarkk, completely agree about pitching around Stanton. But that doesn’t seem to be the Giants’ way, either by strategy or inability. Every time we play AZ, everyone here on the Flap says “pitch around Goldschmidt” and bang, fastballs over the plate. The Giants of all teams should know the effectiveness of pitching around hot hitters, after watching other teams do it with Bonds for so many years. I’ll be amazed if they pitch around Stanton this series, and if they don’t, and if the weather is still warm there, he will likely hit some shots. He’s a stud. Imagine him playing the outfield for the Giants. He’d probably be the first to hit the mitt. Would love to see him in a G’s uni someday soon.

Stanton would hit major shots out of ATT and anywhere else, paul. I would love to have that guy patrol LF for the Gyros. Not going to happen, he’ll require too much coin for the Giants “budget”. Dodgers? I would not put it past them to put him in Dodger Blue with a massive contract…

I’m against pitching around Stanton (at least, never throwing him a strike). Go contrarian. He’s used to being pitched aorund. Pitch him backwards. Whatever.
You can’t run scared and win. It never works.
And Stanton is just a man. He’s just a man.

You da man, Snarkk, nice to see that. She was hot. She seemed to have kind of disappeared after appearing on the Clapton album, maybe had one solo album too, but don’t remember hearing about her after that…

JC Superstar was brought back on Broadway a few years back, it’s touring again now in some form of a big arena show. Headed for SJose this July at the SAP Center. I guess A.L. Webber needs a few more millions…

One thing I really liked about yesterday’s game that no one seems to be discussing: the aggressiveness. Posey going from first to third–think he was trying to make up for his pussy play the night before? I do.Blanco running wild. I love that shit. Play hard. It works in everything but golf.

I know there have been discussions and stats about what kind of hitter should be hitting 2nd in the lineup and that maybe it doesn’t matter much, but I don’t dig Pence in that spot. His OBP is good, but he just doesn’t seem like the right fit there. Maybe I got used to Scoots doing a great job there. And with Belt out, not sure who else could do it. Crawford? If Colvin continues to hit?

Agree Paul. I would like to see Crawford move up to 2nd. Along with destroying left handers this season (last I checked, he was batting .400 plus against them), Crawford has already matched his pre-All-Star break home run total (five) from a year ago. He is on pace to finally break the double-digit mark in long balls for the first time in his career.

Well, I’m definitely liking his hitting streak. As I said before, he can be “All World” for a month . . . then become invisible for weeks on end. Hopefully, he learned something after his two previous stops in Chicago and Colorado. :-)

Yes, Pagan is causing havoc with the OB and the steals. He is bringing a lot to the table right now.
But there is where you miss Scut, who was reliable at hitting ball to right side and moving runner over. Craw as LH would likely be able to do same.
Then the Marlins guy throws the wild pitch.
And Posey can’t get the ball in the air. Argggh, couple bad ABs in a row behind Pagan.

Absolutely, Charlie. Best outing by Cain in a loooong time. Dude got better as the game progressed. Now THAT is the Horse we all know and want to see regularly (sans the two mistakes that ended up on the wrong side of the fence).

Nice come from behind win. Morse and Pence look like they are getting into a groove.
And Cain gets a W in a game where he was throwing gopher balls early. Stanton kept in check, dots nice.
They left too many on base (12), could have won this by 4 runs, if they had clutched up better.
Keep the pedal to the metal…